Korea is a sovereign republic located in the south of the Korean Peninsula, sharing land borders with its northern neighbor (North Korea), and maritime borders with Japan and China.
The country’s area is estimated at 99,000 square kilometers, and its population is about 51 million. Its capital is Seoul, which has an estimated population of 10,117,909 people.
Here are 35 facts and information about the country of South Korea.
Information about South Korea
- 1. The meaning of the word Korea, according to some interpretations, means the land of high mountains or the land of morning calm.
- 2. Only 3 percent of the South Korean population is overweight.
- 3. About 20 percent of South Korean men use makeup regularly.
- 4. There is a famous park in South Korea where there are many statues depicting the shape of the penis.
- 5. In South Korea it is completely legal to drink alcohol even in public.
- 6. Korean people believe that leaving the electric fan on all day can kill those who sleep under it.
- 7. Some believe that the number 13 is an unpopular and sinister number, but in South Korea the number 4 is the culprit.
- 8. South Korea is the largest market for plastic surgery in the world, with 1 out of 3 people having surgery.
- 9. In the city of Siolits, its residents sleep only 6 hours a day, which makes it the lowest number of hours of sleep per capita in the world with the city of Tokyo.
- 10. South Korea has the fastest internet connection in the world and can reach 33 megabits per second.
- 11. There is a prison in Pohang city, which is considered the first prison in the world to use guards from robots instead of humans.
- 12. Restaurants usually close at ten o’clock while shopping stores close at four o’clock in the morning because of the Korean people’s addiction to shopping.
- 13. Koreans love sweet potatoes so much that they add them to sweet potatoes, pizza, and even bread.
- 14. South Korea’s national dish is kimchi , a mixture of vegetables and spices fermented underground.
- 15. In Korea, eating dog meat is common, and there is a very popular soup called posentang soup made from dog meat.
- 16. The Shinsegae department store in South Korea used to be the largest department store in the world.
- 17. The Korean people are so addicted to StarCraft that there are channels dedicated only to the game.
- 18. According to the National Information Agency of Korea, 14 percent of children have Internet addiction.
- 19. An adult who has not yet married in South Korea is nicknamed the Big Child.
- 20. South Korea consumes about 90 percent of the world’s seaweed.
- 21. Korean people use the most credit cards in the world.
- 22. The war that started between North and South Korea is not over yet and the conflict can start again at any time and it can officially end at any time as well.
- 23. On the island of Jeju in South Korea, as a tradition, women go to work while their husbands stay at home.
- 24. For 3 weeks after the birth of the child, hot peppers are hung on the doors of the houses to protect against the entry of evil spirits into the house.
- 25. The first astronomical laboratory in the world was built in South Korea.
- 26. About 2.1 million South Koreans live in American cities.
- 27. The most popular sport in the country is the martial arts of Taekwondo and it is the only sport that originated in the country.
- 28. Made in Korea liquor has been the world’s best-selling liquor for more than 10 consecutive years, overtaking vodka.
- 29. The most common names in South Korea are “Kim” and “Lee”.
- 30. On every 14th day of the month, different feasts are celebrated like Valentine’s Day, White Day Feast, Qibla Feast, Daylight Feast etc.
- 31. Kia Automobiles is the largest automaker in South Korea and the fifth largest automaker in the world.
- 32. The Korean people, according to a study, are among the most intelligent people in the world.
- 33. The average person in South Korea works about 55 hours a week, more than the 15 hours of a worker in the United States.
- 34. At the end of the lunar year, a kite is thrown, as a kind of tradition that means throwing bad luck away.
- 35. The Moon Festival witnesses the visit of more than 20 million Koreans to the cemetery, offering delicious food and placing it on the graves of relatives and friends.